[frankzander]

Hm why pay for something when I can get it for free? Being miserly is a skill that can save a lot of money.

[hx8]

I live a pretty frugal life, and reached the FI part of FIRE in my early 30s as an averagely compensated software engineer.

I am very skeptical anytime something is 'free'. I specifically avoid using a free service when the company profits from my use of the service. These arrangements usually start mutually beneficial, and almost always become user hostile.

Why pay for something when you can get it for free? Because the exchange of money for service sets clear boundaries and expectations.

[johnnyanmac]

Remember: if you're not paying for the product, you ARE the product.

If you're fine with compromising your privacy and having others extract wealth from you, you can go the "free" route.

[frankzander]

You are the product no matter how much you pay tbh

[freeopinion]

I built a simple little CRUD app for somebody the other day. They were very appreciative of the free app. So they bought me a pizza.

I got a free pizza just for coding a little app. That saved me a lot of money.